Thank you to Random House/ Delacorte, NetGalley, and Ms. Goldsmith for the opportunity to read an ARC of this title. An honest review was requested but not required.

I thought it might be too early to read a spooky book but apparently Halloween stuff is emerging at all my favorite stores so I guess the timing (late July?!) is perfect. And boy, did this book BRING the spooky vibes. Meg, a Londoner, is a scholarship art student at posh Greyscott Academy. She wants SO BADLY to fit in and be accepted and as a result is a little bit too try-hard; she's hampered by the fact that she has something of a (very bad) temper. Oh, and also the fact that she DID SOMETHING (very very gradually, through flashbacks, what exactly that Something might be is revealed) that has caused her to be shunned by her former friends and on the verge of expulsion from Greyscott. She's been invited to Charlotte Wren's family estate in Ireland; Charlotte is the lone friend who's kept in contact with her since the Incident. Meg goes to make amends; she feels her whole future is riding on a successful academic career at Greyscott. Meg's prickly (read: defensive, frequently hostile and occasionally outright combative) personality seems pretty on-par for a teenager off-balance and completely out of her element in every way.

So OF COURSE on top of everything the family estate is spooky at best, and haunted AF at worst. Meg tries to deny what she's seeing, hearing, feeling, etc., but eventually is convinced that something major is up at the Wren estate. I wanted so badly to shake Meg and point her in the direction of the person I thought was involved/to blame/suspicious but of course, as with TV, book characters just don't listen to me. (shrug)

Nonetheless the whole dismal, waterlogged, eerie vibe was really working for me. The Irish setting was a nice change too. I did have some questions (chief amongst them, DID she go back to Greyscott, after all?) but overall a fun ride with a great setting. Recommended for a spooky thrill.

It’s the last Wednesday of July. Can you believe it? Anyway, this month, I decided to go with a YA horror mystery mishmash. Something I would’ve devoured as a kid. Nostalgia. You know the kind of stuff. Our Wicked Histories by Amy Goldsmith seemed to fill the requirements. It was released yesterday (July 30th) from Delacorte Press. As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Let’s do the thing!

Our Wicked Histories follows Meg as she tries to salvage her friendships and reclaim her place at a prestigious art school after she’s suspended and on the verge of being kicked out permanently. Luckily for her, her bestie and one half of the Wren twins, Lottie, invites her to a party at the Wren’s ancestral estate with a plan to help Meg make amends. But the estate is dark and dank and creepy. And according to rumors, it may or may not be plagued by a certain spirit intent on revenge. What has Meg gotten herself into? When bodies start showing up, she begins to question whether the school and her so-called friends are worth all the drama and death. But she’s stuck in the middle of nowhere with no means of escape.

As far as the plot goes, young me probably would’ve loved it. It’s pretty standard horror mystery fare. If you’re familiar with this type of book, it’s not hard to guess the killer or the motivation behind the murders. Two storylines unfold at once, the present with the murders and all that, plus the event that put the present events into motion. It’s pretty easy to follow once you realize what’s going on. Personally, I preferred the past plotline. It wasn’t difficult to figure out what was going on there either, but it wasn’t as blatantly obvious. The horror part of the story is nice until the end. It ends up feeling like it was just something thrown in so Meg didn’t have to save herself. However, this wasn’t written for post-MFA brain, it was written for high school brain. High school brain me wouldn’t have cared that she guessed everything. She would have enjoyed it.

The characters were all pretty unlikable. It’s your basic poor scholarship student trying to fit in with the uber rich kids scenario. All the rich kids are douchenozzles (even the ones who aren’t supposed to be) and Meg is annoyingly clingy. Typical teenager stuff. The only one who has any potential redeemable qualities gets stuck in the gay bestie stereotype and isn’t fleshed out at all. For adult me, it was eye roll inducing. Teen me wouldn’t have really cared. She would have been annoyed that none of the characters were relatable, but she still would’ve enjoyed it for what it is.

As far as the writing goes, it was a smooth and pretty quick read. Teen me probably would’ve gotten through it in a couple of days. It takes adult me way longer because I can’t read a book without studying it anymore. Ugh. Thanks, English professors.

Ultimately, Our Wicked Histories was okay. I enjoyed it enough to satisfy my weird nostalgia mood. It wasn’t great and it wasn’t bad. I’ll check out other stuff by Amy Goldsmith if I run across anything.

Overall, I gave it 3 out of 5 stars. If you enjoy this type of story, by all means try it out. If you have a teenager who’s into the genre, let them check it out. There are mentions of sex that happens off the page, but nothing explicit. In case you need a warning about that.

Very well done gothic horror story. I’d rate this a 4-4.5/5 overall. I really enjoyed the creepy atmosphere, set at a derelict Irish estate complete with a loch and legends of a banshee. The cast of characters is comprised of a group of teenagers from a fictional, elite art school…and naturally 1 is a scholarship student who comes from modest means. While I found that particular feature not very inspired as it seems a fairly common grouping, what set it apart was that the group included a pair of twins, who feature as main characters here.

It should be noted that this story has 2 timelines: with events unfolding in the book’s “present” and flashbacks to events leading up to the present.

I genuinely was hooked on this story, and it would be the absolute perfect read for the fall. It was a little weird reading it in the summer, I’ll be honest, but still a spooky good time.

My thanks to NetGalley for a digital version of this story. My thoughts & opinions remain my own.

*Actual rating is 2.5 stars*

The premise talked about a murder mystery with horror elements, which sounded very intriguing. It started out great and I found myself very invested in the many suspicious things happening to the main character. While she wasn’t the easiest character to root for, it didn’t hinder the enjoyment of the story. Not to mention that this book is packed with suspicious things that will keep you invested in the supernatural aspects of the story. Woven in between the murder mystery are these dark events that fuels the suspension, and those were my favourite parts of the book. Be prepared for the plot twists to have plot twists, and not being sure who to trust.

But the further into the book I got, the less invested I got. Because it might have been better if the book focused on either the horror or the murder mystery, as they ended up being muddled together. But the biggest disappointment was the way the mc magically remembered everything as soon as it was convenient, without giving any good reason why she forgot them to start with apart from that it was plot convenient. So much of the story was just her being incompetent one second and very capable the next. Not to mention that I was left hanging with a proper explanation about some of the supernatural events of the place.

I really enjoyed "Those We Drown" by this same author, so I was really excited to get to read her next novel. This was so good! It was creepy and atmospheric, gothic and dark academia. It worked so well. I flew through this and I still want more. This author has such a talent for creating characters and weaving together setting, character and plot. Overall, I loved this and I am sad that it's over and I need more books from Amy Goldsmith as fast as she can crank them out!

This is the ultimate book for the Halloween season! Creepy, moody gothic horror mixed with dark academia. I was hooked from the first page until the satisfying ending.

Dark academia mixed with a gothic house made the perfect premis. We follow Meg as she tries to discover what happened and who was actually dead. My favorite character was the house and how it kept the creep factor high. Goldsmith wrote a great ghost story mixed with a redemption arch.

This book was not written for me. That is fine and it is the beauty of literature. I am just not in the target audience even if I thought I was. I couldn't relate to any of these characters. As a poor american I never went to a school where you actually stayed there. I am old.
Anyway, other people are going to LOVE this one.

A story about a Halloween getaway gone terribly wrong:

A young lady named Meg is visiting her friend Lottie's ancestral home in Ireland. Meg hopes this trip could be her chance to mend her friendships after a problematic incident at a ball. Although it won't be easy, Meg is determined to reconcile with her friends. However, things are not as they seem in the manor, which has a dark legacy spanning many centuries. When one of her friends dies, Meg begins questioning everything she thought she knew about her friends.

This incredible horror book completely captivated me. The storyline was so gripping that I couldn't put it down, and every unexpected turn had me on the edge of my seat. The book's atmosphere and themes reminded me of "Wait Till Helen Comes," which I also enjoyed.

The main character, Meg, was incredibly resilient, and I rooted for her throughout the story. Her determination and refusal to give up were genuinely admirable. Lottie, another character in the book, appeared to be kind but harbored some intriguing secrets. And then there's Laure, one of the friends in the story, who comes across as a genuinely tragic character.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a thrilling horror story with surprising twists and turns. It's a fantastic read that I'm sure many people will love.

Happy Spooky Reading, Paige 📚 👻

Thank you, @netgalley @delacortepress @tbrbeyondtours & @amygoldsmith_writes for the complimentary ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you, NetGalley, Random House Children's | Delacorte Press, for the chance to read this book in exchange of an honest review.

When Meg is asked to spend the Halloween weekend at the ancestral Irish estate of her best friend, Meg considers it as the last chance she has to make amends for what happened months prior. And her only way of staying at Greyscott's, the art school she attended on a scholarship. None of her former friends have talked to her since she left school and now it's the perfect chance to meet them all and make amends after the incident. But there's something wrong with the estate, with Wren Hall. The lake is at the center of legends, mirrors are covered, people are weird and Meg doesn't know who to trust anymore. People and places keep secrets and as past and present bleed into one other, Meg is forced to ask herself how good does she know her friends and if she can survive the weekend.

In this atmospheric horror, nothing is like it seems. Set in an ancestral Irish estate, damp, filled with mysteries and bloody past, Meg is the main character, trying to survive what started as an attempt to make amends for an incidents months ago. Between people disappering, accusations, eerie drawings and faces in the mirror, Meg has to navigate past and present and reality with the mysteries of the past and what happened in this house. I've found this book very eerie and complex and it kept glued to the pages! It was very intriguing and well written and I loved how the supernatural blended so well with the reality.
So recommended!

Our Wicked Histories by Amy Goldsmith was an atmospheric novel.
A gripping folk horror story that had me flipping the pages till early morning hours.
The writing style and the character development as well as the storytelling made this story that much more intriguing.

Thank You NetGalley and Delacorte Press for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

From the moment Meg arrives at Wren Manor I knew this book was going to give me the creepy gothic vibes I was hoping for. From the outside to the inside the house screams creepy/ haunted/ decrepit and I knew some creepy things were going to go down. Meg is only there to make up with her friend group. There was an incident a few months ago, which we learn about through flashbacks throughout the story, and whatever happened has put not only her friendships in jeopardy but also could cause her to be expelled from her prestigious school. So she is extra invested in making this trip work.

The vibes are there from the beginning, we get a creepy house with a creepy lake, her friend Lottie is acting a bit weird and Lottie's brother Sebastian is being a jerk trying to get her to leave. As the other members of the friend group arrive some are friendly towards Meg and others are downright antagonistic. Then this thing happens, (which I won't describe because it's not in the synopsis), the storm starts, the lake floods and there is no way to get home. As the feeling of isolation deepens accusations start to fly, and secrets start to come out.

There is a lot going on in this story, and while I didn't love how some of the kids acted, I thought overall this was a well-paced, well-plotted story that sucked me in, it was full of twists and turns and I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent reading this. and look forward to checking out this author's other book.

This was a pretty good book! I enjoyed it! I did have to give it 3 stars for predictability; however, that doesn't mean it wasn't entertaining.

So, a girl named Meg is trying to make up with her friend group at this prestigious school so that she can go back there. She is invited to Wren Hall, of the Wren family's for which one is a bestie of hers and the other a crush, and believes this is her opportunity.

I love the spooky atmosphere, I love the character development, but I do wish that the end was less predictable. I had guessed what was happening pretty early on in the book. It was still very enjoyable though, once I got into it.

I'd definitely recommend this to those who like a dark atmospheric book. That it does do well.

I really enjoyed this book. The story was atmospheric, chilling, and mysterious. I was intrigued from the beginning. I loved the eerie Irish estate setting. I thought there were some creepy moments in this story and I think this is the perfect read for spooky season.

The characters did get a little annoying with all their drama and I despised the mean girls in the group. I thought the MC made some stupid decisions.

I loved the author’s writing and I can’t wait to read her other books. I definitely recommend this book to YA horror/mystery lovers.

Thank you to the publisher for providing an eARC of this book via NetGalley for review.

A spooky Irish castle, a friend group with secrets, a Ouija board... this atmospheric suspense story is perfect for the upcoming spooky season!

Meg always felt like an outsider at Greyscotts. When she's invited to spend Samhain (learned about that on Bogdan) at isolated Wren Hall by two former classmates, she reluctantly accepts. There's a "we used to be friends, a long time ago" vibe going on, but we're not sure what has caused the breech between Meg and her classmates, or why this trip has REALLY been planned. When someone turns up dead, was it an accident, or murder.

Our Wicked Histories is deeply atmospheric with lots of suspense. It's hard to know if the story is supernatural or real. Put it on your Halloween reading list!

A girl's attempt to make amends with her former friend group takes a sinister turn at an ancestral Irish estate in this gothic horror story inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's The Fall of the House of the Usher. Meg has been invited to visit her former friends for the weekend at their ancestral Irish estate, its the opportunity for her to make amends after the "incident" that got her exiled last year and had all her friends ghosting her. Meg needs this chance to get back in their good graces, and when the gorgeous Wren Twins invite you, you don't say no. Meg was best friends with Lottie Wren... and having a very secret relationship with Lottie's twin brother Seb.... who was also in an on and off relationship with another friend in the group Laure. Yet an incident occurred during the ball last year that involved Seb, Laure, and Meg and now Meg has to make amends with Laure if she wants to get back into the group. Yet spending the weekend at a creepy manor and seeing strange things... and possible horrors and banshees while dealing with her complicated relationship with Seb, Meg has a lot on her plate including trying to remember what actually happened last year. This book was a huge miss for me, and as a big Edgar Allan Poe fan, this was just a disappointment. It definitely gave off YA Bly Manor vibes and every single character in this book was unlikable. Meg had barely any backbone and was boy crazy about Seb, a guy who had no personality and treated her like trash. It was just a disappointing read and all the "horror" moments really just didn't spark anything in me. If you like Bly Manor but with tons of teen drama and very low scares, this could be a good book for you, while if you are a Poe Fan and prefer actual gothic mysteries and horrors, I'd say pass on it.

Release Date: July 30,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Random House Children's | Delacorte Press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Amy Goldsmith has talent. The cover is fierce, and the novel has appealing elements going for it. The isolated, crumbling ancestral home, Irish legends, and creepy lake hooked me.

Initially, I related to the artistic scholarship student trying to fit in with privileged peers. The suspense, creepy atmosphere, and eerie happenings kept me turning pages to the end.

Unfortunately, I found the characters shallow–in characterization and personality. Many readers will find this novel satisfying. I expected to be thrilled with it, but for me, it lacks engaging personalities and depth. The prolonged flashbacks, clunky plot devices, and excessive superficial romance / pining scenes disrupted the flow, weakening the book. I lost respect and empathy for the main character.

Overall, it was entertaining for a fast read. I liked the horror scenes and the connections with history, painting, and poetry. Recommended for mature teen readers and fans of Gothics, Horror, Mysteries, and Dark Academia vibes.

These are solely my opinions. Thank you, Random House / Delacorte Press and NetGalley for the e-ARC for consideration. I'll add the TikTok link.
YA Gothic, YA Horror, YA Mystery, Dark Academia

3.75 stars

I'll be honest, I did not love this author's first book, and actually requested this one because I mixed her up with a different author, but I ended up liking this a lot more than her first book! This story follows Meg, a student on an art scholarship at a prestigious high school in London. After a falling out with her wealthy friends at a school dance that ended in Meg getting suspended, she's been desperate to get back into school and back in with her friends. So she's thrilled when Lottie, her bestie and the de facto leader of their group, invites her to her ancestral home in Ireland for Samhain. The home itself is not exactly what Meg was expecting---run-down and creepy, and on the shore of a lake that's rumored to be haunted by a banshee. As tensions within the friend group rise, so do the unsettling vibes. After they hear screaming and crying at night, some of the friends are ready to head home early. Until a bad storm strikes, taking out their power and cell service, flooding the lake, and completely isolating them from town.

This is a solidly creepy YA horror, with a few scenes that actually freaked me out to visualize. I didn't end up loving the resolution of a couple of the plotlines, though, mostly because they involved going back on some scenes we'd already witnessed, which was needlessly confusing. I also wasn't super clear on some parts of the supernatural plotline, which might just be me being too logical, but I had banshee questions. Either way, this was a fun read that I knocked out in a night, and a good combo of a locked-door horror mystery and teen drama. At this rate, this author's next book should be a home run for me, so TBD! Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Delacorte Press and NetGalley, for the free E-copy for review.

From the very first page, I was hooked by the atmospheric world of Amy Goldsmith's "Our Wicked Histories." The evocative setting, with its mysterious lake and haunting lore of a banshee, immediately drew me in. The depiction of the decrepit manor through the protagonist's eyes sets the tone for the entire narrative, creating a vivid and compelling backdrop.

What began as a seemingly ordinary drama amongst friends soon transformed into a suspenseful locked-room horror, brimming with secrets and mystery. The infusion of supernatural elements added an intriguing layer, elevating the reading experience.

I was particularly invested in Meg's journey, as her yearning for a sense of belonging tugged at my heartstrings. Her story, filled with heartbreak, resonated with a glimmer of hope that lingered long after the final page.

The complex dynamics between the twins shed light on the blinding nature of sibling relationships, revealing the capacity to overlook the uglier truths. The seamless interweaving of past and present timelines added depth and complexity to the narrative, further enriching the overall reading experience.

Ultimately, this was a highly satisfying read that transported me to a small town in Ireland during the Samhain festivities. I witnessed a riveting confrontation, the unveiling of deeply buried secrets, and the immersive lore surrounding the mysterious woman in the lake - a captivating banshee figure.

I was lucky to receive an arc of this book.

I was so excited going into this book, as I love gothic style novels. I was not disappointed at all. The characters was amazing, the writing style was more than my expectations

The plot twist was nothing like I expected and I finished this book looking at my kindle going ????? Is that it